Akihabara streets.
"This is where we buy intelligence?"
Kyokotsu, who had transformed into a junior high school girl wearing a black sailor uniform identical to Hagoromo Gitsune's, blinked up at the giant screen overhead.
The massive display was currently showing advertisements for a popular anime.
The revealing swimsuits and exaggerated poses emphasising certain unmentionable body parts made Kyokotsu's eyes widen in shock.
"Minagoroshi Jizō, are you sure this is an intelligence trading spot and not Yoshiwara's pleasure quarters?"
Beside her, Minagoroshi Jizō, in his disguise as a short, white-haired old man, chuckled dryly:
"According to the intel purchased from Tengu House, it's definitely the basement here."
"Huh..." Kyokotsu wasn't particularly surprised, just intrigued. "I've always heard every pleasure quarter has its dedicated intelligence hub. Never thought these facilities would still exist centuries later."
At this thought, Kyokotsu couldn't help glancing at the screen ads again, muttering:
"Though the people in those pictures don't look human at all – such huge eyes and tiny noses. Are we sure they're not yokai?"
'Have you considered looking at your own eyes first?'
Minagoroshi Jizō mentally sighed before urging:
"Enough, Lady Kyokotsu. We should proceed inside. From now on, please communicate using Fear to avoid exposing our identities."
"Oh, understood."
Kyokotsu scanned the shopping complex's ground floor, spotting numerous visitors who appeared to be her current disguise's age, and visibly relaxed.
'With so many peers around, this disguise should be sufficient to blend in, right?'
Feeling more assured, Kyokotsu adopted an air of familiarity as she followed Minagoroshi Jizō into the lobby, heading straight for the elevators.
They deliberately waited until previous passengers had departed before entering an empty lift. Minagoroshi Jizō pressed the B2 button.
As the elevator descended, Kyokotsu recalled the bustling streets filled with pedestrians and numerous foreigners, unable to suppress her criticism:
"Setting up an intelligence den in such a place... What was that Tsubame Shim thinking?"
"Apparently for convenience."
Minagoroshi Jizō explained:
"The purchased intel briefly mentioned the rationale."
"Apparently, Akihabara is what humans call a 'sacred land for otaku culture'. Here, even actual Vampires or yokai appearing wouldn't be considered abnormal."
"Because Akihabara has so many humans cosplaying as supernatural beings that most Japanese here automatically assume anything unusual is just human roleplay."
"Exploiting this perception, they jointly activated a special Abyss Artefact to solidify this notion, successfully establishing a unique cognition barrier across Akihabara's main streets."
"Within this barrier, all anomalies are perceived as normal."
"Therefore, all abilities violating these anomalies within this scope will be suppressed by the barrier."
"And what provides this suppression is the cognitive power dispersed by all humans who have entered or once entered the barrier."
"This power grows exponentially each day due to Akihabara's increasing annual visitor numbers. It's said that nowadays, even a Great Yokai attempting large-scale destruction in this area would be suppressed to the level of a Small Yokai playing with fire and water."
"Thus, naturally, this place became a hub for exchanges among anomalies and formed the largest black market in the East."
"Though not openly acknowledged, intelligence suggests the so-called Allied Forces are responsible for maintaining this black market."
Hearing that the black market was maintained by the Allied Forces, Kyokotsu's expression changed abruptly:
"Then aren't we walking right into a trap by coming here?"
The very definition of a covert organisation lies in its illegality.
So-called official organisations are essentially mystic side groups registered with the Allied Forces, possessing formal identification numbers.
For instance, the Metropolitan Police Department Bujin-shū holds Allied designation NO:11, while the SDS is numbered NO:94.
Properly numbered organisations are major forces acknowledged by the mystic side, extensions of official power enjoying numerous privileges wherever Allied governance reaches.
Yet groups like the Hagoromo Group, composed of unnumbered anomalous beings, are precisely what's termed covert organisations.
Even if their existence isn't actually covert.
"Heh, no need for concern, Miss Kyokotsu. Even if the Allied Forces wished to make arrests, they wouldn't do so in Akihabara. Otherwise, there'd be no point establishing such a troublesome barrier."
Minagoroshi Jizō chuckled coldly:
"Japan's authorities once proposed having those so-called National Level Onmyoji establish such a cognition barrier, but the Allied Forces ultimately vetoed it."
"The stated reason was: 'A barrier that can only control the activation of Abyss Artefacts without any adjustments guarantees greater stability and enhances Akihabara's security.'"
"But in truth, establishing large black markets isn't difficult. The real challenge lies in building the reputation of a secure trading location."
"Whether establishing cognition barriers or auxiliary Abyss Artefacts for barriers, while troublesome, could be accomplished if official organisations were willing to sacrifice resources. But if humans erected the barriers, how could they guarantee no backdoors were left for personal gain?"
"Barriers are easy to raise, but credibility isn't so easily maintained."
At this point, Minagoroshi Jizō's expression turned sardonic:
"How could common people who accidentally obtain treasures ensure their safety? How could small organisations purchasing valuables guarantee they wouldn't be coerced into surrendering them?"
"Barriers are simple solutions, but solving security assurance is immensely challenging."
"So rest assured about safety here. As long as we remain in Akihabara's main street district, we're absolutely secure."
Hearing this explanation, Kyokotsu seemed both enlightened and contemplative:
"Human thinking is truly complicated..."
Their communication through Fear was extremely rapid - barely five seconds elapsed before the elevator doors fully opened, their conversation concluding just in time.
Only after exiting the elevator did Kyokotsu regard the vast hall filled with countless bookshelves with a peculiar expression.
"Please follow me."
Minagoroshi Jizō had long memorised the method for purchasing information. Now, leading Kyokotsu, he walked up to a bookshelf displaying rows of plastic boards.
Kyokotsu looked at the "Parent-Child Section" sign above the shelf, then down at the plastic boards featuring mother-daughter characters with highly similar designs and mostly exposed bodies, her expression turning rather peculiar.
It became even more peculiar when she saw the at least 80-year-old Minagoroshi Jizō pick up one of the plastic boards.
"Minagoroshi Jizō, you like this kind of picture book?"
Minagoroshi Jizō froze on the spot, his face twisting after a long pause:
"This is a purchase voucher!"
"Only by taking the plastic board to the counter will they give me the complete picture book!"
"Eh? These here aren't complete?" Kyokotsu was greatly surprised and picked up a plastic board to flip through briefly.
The content was sparse—just three or four pages beneath the plastic board, but that content...
Kyokotsu thought even the most flirtatious courtesan in Yoshiwara's pleasure district probably couldn't match the expressions depicted on these boards.
"Minagoroshi Jizō, can we really buy information here?"
Minagoroshi Jizō's face darkened as he ignored the brat, taking his selected plastic board to the counter.
"That'll be 680 yen." The female clerk smiled at the elderly man purchasing doujinshi without the slightest change in expression.
Minagoroshi Jizō casually pulled out a 1000-yen note, handed it over, and asked:
"Pardon me, but is there any way to purchase doujinshi tax-free?"
The clerk's expression remained unchanged as she followed up:
"How many would you like?"
"Wholesale," Minagoroshi Jizō replied.
"Which series?" the clerk asked again.
"The full collection."
"Please wait in Meeting Room 3." The clerk casually took one doujinshi from under the counter and placed it on the surface along with the change.
Seeing this, Minagoroshi Jizō instinctively picked up the doujinshi and change, then suddenly realised something. He put the doujinshi down and turned to see Kyokotsu's wide eyes staring at him.
His face darkening further, Minagoroshi Jizō said:
"Let's go! To Meeting Room 3."
"Aren't you taking this?"
Kyokotsu pointed at the doujinshi on the counter.
"Leave it. Just follow me." Minagoroshi Jizō stalked off with a black expression.
"Eh..."
Kyokotsu looked regretful, then, after a moment's thought, picked up the doujinshi and glanced at it.
The cover was so lewd that it piqued her curiosity about who drew it. This wasn't hard to find out—the cover clearly stated "By Eri Kashiwagi."
'Humans are terrifying, drawing things like this.'
Kyokotsu rolled up the doujinshi and tucked it into her long hair before quickly catching up to Minagoroshi Jizō.
The two entered the so-called Meeting Room 3 together, immediately noticing the entire room was vibrating.
Having experienced elevators before, Kyokotsu instantly understood—this "meeting room" was essentially an elevator descending further underground.
"Buying information seems really troublesome," Kyokotsu muttered, but remembering this was her elder sister's orders, she endured it.
After nearly a minute of vibration, the room finally stopped, and the door slid open.
Following Minagoroshi Jizō out, Kyokotsu discovered another underground room—this one containing only a computer setup with monitor, keyboard and mouse, but no visible tower.
Minagoroshi Jizō stepped forward, sat at the computer, opened a browser, and said:
"I'm looking for Tsubame Shim."
As soon as the words were spoken, the computer monitor's built-in speakers emitted an electronic tone:
[Please confirm whether you need to contact the information dealer.]
"Confirmed."
The screen immediately went black, displaying only the white words [Contacting information dealer] neatly positioned in the centre.
Kyokotsu stepped closer and waited with Minagoroshi Jizō for less than two minutes before the screen lit up again.
Staring at the pink-haired girl on the screen, Kyokotsu couldn't help but blink:
'Is this Tsubame Shim?'